Remember the gorgeous pastel coloured units we showcased in our Style Heroes feature back in March? We were so impressed with Nanovo.cz’s eye for style that we asked Prague-based owner Jirka Mrázek to tell us about his favourite Czech designs.

When we speak about Czech design in second half of the 20th century, beside Botas shoes, Favorit bikes and Škoda cars, we should not forget the iconic Prim wristwatch: The story began in 1949, when Czechoslovakia’s first watch-making factory opened in Nové Město nad Metují and Prim became a competitor to the popular Russian and East German models.

Before the velvet revolution in 1989, Czechoslovakians were often given Prim pieces as their first watches, and many collectors were there born.

Rarer models include those made for the Czechoslovakia Army, but in my opinion the best design has to be the more common Prim Automat Caliber 96. Now, because of the increased interest in retro styles, even non-collectors are hunting down such iconic designs.

The production of wrist watches under the name Prim is still going strong today, but the company now focuses more on high-price styles. PersonallyI  miss the ‘every man’ pieces.